Rainforest walk to Riverside Park

This walk leads through the heart of Hunter Wetlands National Park allowing you to explore this area rich in history and nature. The boardwalk takes you through a wetland with great water bird viewing opportunities, the rainforest walk leads you through a diverse forest with information signs about the plants. The walk then finishes with a road walk through open areas to the well-established Riverside picnic area on the banks of the Hunter River.

to find the fibreglass boardwalk[5]. This walk follows the boardwalk for 200m as it winds through the wetlands giving great views and bird watching opportunities to then come to the end of the raised boardwalk and start of a dirt track.

Rainforest boardwalk

The boardwalk leads through the beautiful Kooragang Wetlands[6] giving great views of the water plants and birds. Specifically, this walk leads over the Water Ribbon Swale, an abandoned channel of the Hunter River. You might be lucky enough to see
Chestnut Teal, Great Egret, Cattle Egret, Glossy Ibis, Australian White Ibis, Straw-necked Ibis, Common Greenshank, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpiper, or if very lucky a Painted Snipe.

(0.26km) East end of Rainforest boardwalk → Silos car park

700 m

10 mins

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0m

Moderate track

Continue straight: From the east end of Rainforest boardwalk, this walk heads along the grass and dirt track, away from the boardwalk for 160m passing through a few potentially boggy sections

[35]. From this seat this walk leads for another 150m through the forest past a few more plant information signs[36][37][38][39] to then cross a short fibreglass bridge[40]. About 35m past this small bridge the track leads past another seat

(0.96km) Silos car park → Riverside Park car park

1.1 km

16 mins

0m

0m

Easy track

Turn right: From the Silos car park, this walk heads[42] out of the car park and turns left to walk along side Millams Rd[43]. This walk continues along the asphalt road[44] (being careful of traffic) for 300m to head under the power lines[45] then turn left on to the dirt road[46], following ‘The Lane’ sign[47]. This walk then follows the dirt ‘The Lane’ beside the power lines for 700m to come to the asphalt Riverside Park car park[48] at the end of the road.

(2.04km) Riverside Park car park → Riverside Park int

30 m

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0m

Easy track

Continue straight: From the Riverside Park car park[49] at the end of The Lane, Kooragang, this walk heads over the grassy and gravel area through timber bollards

[50] for less than 10m to come to an intersection just before the river, marked by a ‘Riverside Park’ sign[51].Turn right: From the intersection, this walk follows the gravel track to cross the short fibreglass bridge, keeping the river to the left. After about 10m this walk comes to a 3-way intersection with a gravel footpath, marked by an arrow post sign[52]. At the end of this side trip, retrace your steps back to the main walk then Turn around.

Riverside Park

Riverside Park is found near the end of ‘The Lane’, Kooragang within Hunter Wetlands National Park. There is the City Farm jetty[53] on the banks of the north arm of the Hunter River[54]. You will also find two picnic shelters[55]

Analysis and summary of the altitude variation on the Rainforest walk to Riverside Park

Accessibility summary information for the Rainforest walk to Riverside Park

Parking: There are 0 designated accessible parking areas on this walk.
Toilets: There are 0 designated accessible toilets on this walk.
Seats: There are 5 places to sit on this walk.
They are on average 220m apart, with a maximum gap of 380m.Hazards: There are 3 specific noteable accessability related hazards on this walk.Wheelchair Steep There is a 4m long moderately steep section across the dirt/grass between the trail and the boardwalk. Found about 30m into the walk. Trip Hazard A 25m long boggy section of track. The track floods after heavy rain or very high tides. Found about 330m into the walk. Trip Hazard A 10m long boggy section of narrow track. The track floods after heavy rain or very high tides. Found about 370m into the walk.

Overview of this walks grade – based on the AS 2156.1 – 2001

Under this standard, a walk is graded based on the most difficult section of the walk.

Length

2 km

Time

45 mins

.

Grade 3/6

Moderate track

AS 2156.1

Gradient

Gentle hills with occasional steps (2/6)

Quality of track

Formed track, with some branches and other obstacles (3/6)

Signs

Clearly signposted (1/6)

Experience Required

No experience required (1/6)

Weather

Storms may impact on navigation and safety (3/6)

Infrastructure

Limited facilities, not all cliffs are fenced (3/6)

Some more details of this walks Grading

Here is a bit more details explaining grading looking at sections of the walk

Gradient

This whole walk, 2km has gentle hills with occasional steps.

Quality of track

Around 1.3km of this walk follows a clear and well formed track or trail, whilst the remaining 700m follows a formed track, with some branches and other obstacles.

Signs

This whole walk, 2km is clearly signposted.

Experience Required

This whole walk, 2km requires no previous bushwalking experience.

weather

Around 1.3km of this walk is not usually affected by severe weather events (that would unexpectedly impact safety and navigation), whilst the remaining 700m is affected by storms that may impact your navigation and safety.

Infrastructure

Around 1.3km of this walk is close to useful facilities (such as fenced cliffs and seats), whilst the remaining 700m has limited facilities (such as not all cliffs fenced).

Similar walks

A list of walks that share part of the track with the Rainforest walk to Riverside Park walk.

Fire Danger

http://new.wildwalks.com/wildwalks_custom/includes/walk_fire_danger.php?walkid=nsw-hwnp-rwtrp
Each park may have its own fire ban, this rating is only valid for today and is based on information from the RFS Please check the RFS Website for more information.

Weather Forest

This walk starts in the Hunter weather district always check the formal BOM forecast or pdf before starting your walk.
http://new.wildwalks.com/wildwalks_custom/includes/walk_weather_danger.php?walkid=nsw-hwnp-rwtrp
Forecast snapshot